Asymmetry, modernity bloom at Dior's secret garden in Paris

PARIS (Reuters) - A colorful yet eerie pleasure garden greeted guests to the Dior fashion show in Paris on Friday, as artistic director Raf Simons introduced "a new tribe of flower women" to the ready-to-wear scene.

For Dior's spring/summer 2014 show at Paris fashion week, Simons took inspiration from the interplay between the natural and artificial worlds for his exploration of modernity that featured asymmetrical shapes and loose silhouettes.

"Sophisticated and savage" is how he described his looks, in which pleats dominated, asymmetry was ubiquitous and bursts of electric orange and yellow peppered the collection.

A scaffolding erected inside the gardens of the Musee Rodin was hung with brightly hued orchids and vines, some real and some artificial. The set, with its twisting and cascading decor, brought to mind a secret garden or a mysterious rainforest where a viper might lurk.

The Paris fashion shows, which began on Tuesday, are taking place amid signs of revived demand in Europe for luxury goods. The market, which has been in decline for nearly five years, has felt most pressure in southern Europe, where consumer spending is tight and unemployment high.

The global luxury brand has sought to attract younger, hipper clients, and Christian Dior Chief Executive Sidney Toledano told Reuters that "Europe was working well" for the company.